Medieval paintings of a fruit tree flanked by imaginary beasts on the south wall of the chancel of Hailes Church, Gloucestershire, England, UK.
Medieval paintings of a fruit tree flanked by imaginary beasts on the south wall of the chancel of Hailes Church, Gloucestershire, England, UK. The C13th or C14th designs are described as a griffin on the L with a basilisk on the R, but neither fits the usual form of these creatures. Griffon: head (with pointed ears), wings & forelegs of an eagle; body, rear legs & tail of a lion. Basilisk or cockatrice: mythical reptile with a lethal gaze or breath, hatched by a serpent from a cock's egg. A two-legged dragon (wyvern) with a cock's head, wings & an arrow-shaped tail. These mythical creatures seem to have come from an individual imagination rather than a Medieval bestiary or pattern book. There is an elephant with wings on the north wall. The church was originally founded in the C12th by Norman lord Ralph de Worcester, the adjacent abbey was founded in 1245 by Richard, Earl of Cornwall. The church acted as a Capella Ante Portas (chapel before the gates) where pilgrims would pray before entering the abbey.
Size: 4961px × 3719px
Location: Hailes Church, Winchcombe, Cheltenham, Gloucestershire, England, UK
Photo credit: © Mick Sharp / Alamy / Afripics
License: Licensed
Model Released: No
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